IIT-Kanpur student wins James Dyson Award

New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS) Asish Mohandas, a product design student of IIT-Kanpur, has won the India James Dyson Award 2017 — an international design competition — for his innovative product that will help in the efficient transfer of patients from one place to the other without causing them any pain.

The product — named as “MAATTAM” a retrofit patient transfer system — works similar to a treadmill having a moving platform with a wide conveyor fabric belt and rollers on either ends.

MAATTAM being a retrofit can be put on top of any wheeled stretcher with flat top surface and height adjustment facility, converting it into a transfer stretcher.

“I resolved to design MAATTAM as I surveyed amongst doctors, nurses, ward boys to conclude that the majority of hospitals and clinics in India do not have efficient stretcher that transfers patient without any pain,” Mohandas said in a statement on Thursday.

“I wanted to design a simple, affordable and retrofit solution which would most appropriately solve the problem of patient transfer in hospitals and create a better experience, every time the patient is getting transferred. It will also ensure evading the problem of spine disorders while shifting,” Mohandas added.

The James Dyson Award runs in 23 countries and was for the first time extended to the Indian students.

Mohandas will receive £2,000 along with James Dyson Award Certificate from the James Dyson Foundation. He will now be running for the International Winner Award and prize money of £30,000.

He aims to commercialise this product and is in the process of developing the full-scale model of the retrofit stretcher which would be able to transfer an adult of height up to 180 cm and weight of maximum 95 kg.